


I Think We're Alone Now

by deareststars



Series: music is the only pleasure we have [5]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Awkward Romance, Dancing, Dancing and Singing, F/M, Fluff, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert, Vanya Hargreeves Needs A Hug, aaa diego doesn't like anyone it hUrts, aka vanya's but with d a n c e, allison is trying to be a good sister, also after a panic attack woO, fandom is insistent that vanya is gay but as always you can be whatever gender, klaus and you are friends, minor stripper joke but it doesn't really point toward a specific gender, reader has dancing powers, reader has powers again, you and vanya live together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-11-29 06:42:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18219584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deareststars/pseuds/deareststars
Summary: You pulled Vanya to her feet as the pre-chorus of the song started. "Come on, we have to dance to this at least," you insisted, starting to wave your hips around to the music.---based off of 'i think we're alone now' by tiffany, the dancing scene during the first episode of the season





	I Think We're Alone Now

**Author's Note:**

> best way to fight the remnants of a panic attack is to o b v i o u s l y write fanfiction
> 
> vanya has, like, nothing written about her in tua fandom so i needed to take up the slack and write something for my poor girl/sweet sweet ellen page

When you and Vanya found out that dear old Dad had died...well, you didn't expect the afternoon to turn out like this.

 

You were accompanying Vanya's session, dancing along to her music and exchanging small smiles with her as she watched you and you watched her. The lights were off in the theatre, save for the ones focused on you and Vanya, and for a moment you could almost convince yourself that you were actually performing a duet. But then the lights turned back on as always, Vanya stopped playing, and the two of you were left standing there in a still and empty silence.

 

Vanya packed up her violin, you dried your sweat off with a spare towel, and you began heading back down to Vanya's apartment. You held a meaningless conversation with her, nothing that would be remembered in a few days, when she seemed to notice something and she slowed to a stop. Her brow was furrowed and you came around to stand at her side, watching the newscast with interest.

 

**SIR REGINALD HARGREEVES IS DEAD**

 

Your eyes widened and you looked at Vanya. "Dad," she breathed out, almost inaudible in the pouring rain. You shook your umbrella out of your coat pocket and held it over your heads, not daring to move away from the window.

 

You both caught a taxi as quickly as you could and told the driver to take you to the sight of the Umbrella Academy. He didn't recognize Vanya, but he did recognize you, if only for your performances at clubs and theatres. He didn't say anything about it, but you noticed that he was driving a little faster than he would otherwise, which you were grateful for.

 

Neither of you had been to the Academy in so long. It had been an incredibly long time since you left, and when you stepped through the gate, through the doorway, and into the foyer, you saw that nothing had changed. Everything still reminded you of your childhood, and subsequently the two that you had lost. Five disappeared, Ben died, and then everything fell apart.

 

You intertwined your fingers through Vanya's, felt her squeeze your hand back in a signal that she was okay, and the two of you began to walk into the foyer.

 

A familiar voice called out both of your names, and you looked up the stairs to see Allison, as beautiful and elegant as ever. You gave her a small smile, walked forward, and enveloped her and Vanya in a small group hug. Even though the three of you were the same age, you still felt like she was the oldest one of the Hargreeves siblings, and judging by the height differences, that hadn't changed at all. The motherly smile she gave the both of you also hinted to that.

 

Diego came out of the living room and barely spared you a glance. "What are they doing here?" He slowed ever so slightly and glanced at Vanya. "Especially her. She doesn't belong here. Not after what she did."

 

You rolled your eyes. "Are you really going to do this today?" you called after him. He ignored you and took the stairs two at a time, knives glinting in their sheaths.

 

"Way to dress for the occasion, by the way," Allison said, crossing her arms.

 

"At least I'm wearing black."

 

He disappeared and Allison turned back to the two of you. Vanya looked ashamed, and you knew that she felt bad about the book she'd written, which was honestly kind of shitty for Diego to bring up. "You know what? I...maybe he's right. And I shouldn't--"

 

"Forget about him." Allison was so incredibly sincere that even Vanya had to look up. "I'm glad you're here."

 

That coaxed a smile out of Vanya and you nodded gratefully at Allison. The three of you stood in awkward silence before you and Vanya headed into the living room and Allison into the study.

 

Pogo and Grace greeted you, and you felt like everything was slowly returning to the way it was. Sadly, even Vanya being disappointed in her father's lack of caring and saddened by Five's disappearance was normal, but you made sure to keep a firm grip on her hand in case you felt her slipping away. Her pills were in her coat, just as they always were, so you prayed that they'd be able to keep her from getting down too much.

 

You stared at Five's portrait with Vanya even after Pogo left. Klaus and Allison's muffled voices came from the study, and you could only imagine what those two were up to now. You were too wrapped up in your thoughts about Five, and how your family of eight turned to six.

 

Even after all this time, you still believed that Five was out there, which might be childish of you to think, but it kept you going. You wanted to make sure that when he did come back, he'd still have a family to come back to.

 

Luther, Allison, Klaus, and Diego came into the living room, and understandably, once you were all gathered in one space,  _that_ was when things went to shit.

 

Good ol' Number One, as elegant as always, was fixated on that stupid monocle that Dad always wore and confirmed that he thought one of you had killed your  _incredibly_ sweet father. No one even bothered to listen to anything coming out of that guy's mouth once Diego put his thoughts out in the open, leaving Luther to his own devices or whatever and everyone else scattered around the house.

 

You and Vanya were sat on the foyer steps, Vanya next to you with your legs spread out over her lap. She was thoughtful and quiet, resting her chin on her hand. You could hear Klaus yelling at himself in the living room, or maybe he was yelling at Dad's ashes. Either one wouldn't surprise you; as much as you loved Klaus, he was a bit...eccentric sometimes. Still, he was your brother, and you contemplated going into that room to attempt to calm him down...or something.

 

"You always were a stubborn bastard!" he screamed, and you chuckled. Of course he was yelling at Dad. Your worry for him lessened.

 

Vanya had a thin smile on her face as she listened to Klaus' ranting. He came out of the living room, sporting a drink and a suspiciously dusty urn. "Oh, hello, dear siblings of mine," he said with a smile. As always, his eyes were baggy and he looked as high as a kite, but you had a vague understanding of why. You knew that the others still disapproved of his habits, but at least he had someone who cared. "I advise you to  _not_ look behind the bar in the living room, especially not on the floor, and if you do, ignore the dust that is definitely dust and not Papa's ashes."

 

You gave him a scout's salute and he nodded in satisfaction, a quick jerk of his head that almost sent him tumbling forward. He recovered quickly and departed, presumably into the kitchen for some food. Speaking of food, you were fucking hungry. Hopefully, you and Vanya could grab something to eat after you dumped Dad's ashes out in the courtyard and ditched this stupid house.

 

"Klaus is a character," Vanya said, the first time she'd spoken since looking at Luther with such betrayal in her already broken eyes. Her voice wasn't smooth; rather, it was rough and yet soothing on the ears. You loved being able to wake up to that every morning, and that Vanya enjoyed your company enough to have put up with you for the past seventeen or so years. She looked to you and sat back, resting her palms on the stairs behind her. "Do you remember when he stole Allison's pink boa--"

 

"--then paraded around the house with it, and subsequently got caught by Dad?" You chuckled and nodded, reaching out to intertwine your fingers with hers. "Of course I do. That was iconic, especially the look on Allison's face when she found out. Klaus had to do her laundry that day because of how sticky the boa got."

 

"God, sometimes I wonder what it would've been like to grow up with this family and actually have a decent childhood," Vanya mused, messing with your jeans with her free hand. There was a frayed spot on your knee that she seemed fascinated by, judging by the fact that it was a lot less put-together than it was when you originally bought it. "Like, could you imagine how fun our relationship would've been? You dancing and me playing the violin..."

 

"Ah, yes," you said with a fond grin. "The thing that we do now?" She smacked your knee and you chuckled. You thought back to the one time you'd been able to do it in your childhood. "We did do that, once. But we got caught by Dad. He forced me to train for, like, a week so I'd be able to manipulate the air around me. I think that was one of the worst seven days of my life, not being able to see you at all except for at mealtimes."  _Well, that and when Dad quarantined you._ You didn't say that last part out loud, but she seemed to understand it.

 

She thinned her lips into a white line and sighed. "Yeah, I missed you a lot," she murmured, and just like her understanding the unspoken statement, you knew she was talking about that incredibly long period of time where the only interaction you'd ever been able to have with her was when you asked Pogo how she was doing and he didn't say anything, just looked at you with sadness. Your heart softened at the melancholy in her voice and you straightened up, freeing your hand from hers to caress her face. She leaned into your touch and closed her eyes, staying incredibly still as you ran your thumb across her cheekbone.

 

Diego came down the stairs and didn't even bother to greet you as he did. You didn't really care much for him, either; he was always so brash, and although you were as well, you did it with a little more grace than he did. Not to mention what he had said to Vanya before the meeting. He ignored Vanya as well and disappeared into the living room. You heard him fall onto the couch with a grunt, crack his knuckles, then pull out one of his knives. You could only hope that you wouldn't turn around and see his paranoid ass about to throw the knife in your direction.

 

As you faced Vanya again, you heard music start up from what you could only assume was one of the bedrooms. You and Vanya both looked up, immediately placing the song in your heads. The smiles on your faces were identical; you remembered listening to this song for the first time when you and Vanya had snuck out and gotten donuts at Griddy's. That had been the first and only time you'd ever traveled outside of the Academy, but you remembered it fondly because it had also been your first kiss. What a night that was.

 

You pulled Vanya to her feet as the pre-chorus of the song started. "Come on, we have to dance to this at least," you insisted, starting to wave your hips around to the music.

 

"You know I can't dance as well as you," Vanya protested, but she didn't sit back down, which you considered a point on your side of the board. That board was incredibly tipped in Vanya's favor, though, because you couldn't find yourself saying no to that pretty little face very often.

 

"Hey, this is my power, after all," you reminded her, starting to feel your mentioned abilities come to life around you. Waves formed in the air and you twirled. "Not to mention that because of this, I found out that stripping pays a lot of money. If only Dad listened to me the first time I suggested we fashion a pole here in the foyer."

 

She rolled her eyes, but another smile was tugging at her lips. "You're ridiculous."

 

Your eyebrows shot up toward your hairline, and you stepped forward to grab her hands. She stumbled forward and you easily caught her, supporting her as you danced. She slowly swayed to the beat, not doing much except bobbing her head. "You're saying that like you just now realized it," you chided her. "And for that, I'm forcing you to dance with me now instead of just watching."

 

Vanya's protests were weak. It's not like she had much choice anyway. Your powers were starting to mold to your desires, and right now you wanted Vanya to dance like the absolute queen that she was. Her arms and legs started to move, slightly janky at first, but slowly growing in fluidity and matching your little routine as well. "There you go, darling," you said, twirling a few more times for her amusement and feeling the jacket you'd tied around your waist furl outwards.

 

You grabbed her hands and started to spin her around as well, doing a simplified version of the salsa. At least Dad hadn't denied you that dance, you thought bitterly, taking the male role while Vanya took the female one. It was fun to twirl someone, anyway, so you didn't mind leading.

 

"You're so beautiful," you murmured, barely audible when compared to Tiffany's vocals. "And I hope you know that, no matter what the others think of you, you are so incredibly special and talented and I love you to the moon and back."

 

She chuckled. "I know, love, you tell me that every morning," she replied. "Not to say that I mind. It's a wonderful wakeup call."

 

You hummed along to the music as you twirled her around, making sure to keep her steady and in time with the music. As you leaned in to give her a peck on the forehead, the music pulled to a halt. Blue light flickered outside and you felt Vanya stumble again. You steadied her, feeling your powers ebb out into the area around you. "What was that?" she asked, eyes wide. Her hands were shaky on your arms and you looked around, unconsciously moving to put yourself in front of Vanya.

 

Diego came out of the living room through the doors you hadn't even realized were closed. He looked at you and you nodded, taking Vanya's hand and following him out into the courtyard. Luther and Allison's footsteps echoed on the floor above you, but as you opened up the door and went outside, the  _thing_ above your heads was what really caught your attention.

 

"Oh."  


'Oh' was right.

 

_I think we're alone now,_

_  
There doesn't seem to be anyone around_

 

 

 

 


End file.
